Vendor Management

Client & Advisory Services

Vendor Management — Goodbye Fragmented, Hello Optimized

If your company is like most, you use a lot of different outsourced IT services — Internet, cloud and CRM, for example. Each meets a different need, presents a different set of challenges and risks, has a different service agreement to negotiate, and, quite possibly, has its own unique way of driving you crazy. With so many moving parts to manage, it’s easy for details to fall between the cracks, especially security issues. And since an average of 60-70% of an organization’s IT budget is spent on third-party solutions, it’s easy to inadvertently waste money, too.

Leapfrog helps you meet your business needs, reduce risk, cut costs, gain additional value from your vendors and run a more efficient IT operation by proactively managing your vendors.

And as with all things in your Leapfrog IT pond, what gets managed gets leveraged!

Choosing vendors for an optimized IT environment Not all third-party solutions are awesome. Some are weak links, jeopardizing an otherwise excellent IT operation. Our frogs have a ton of experience selecting, optimizing and managing the various core vendors commonly found in the mid-market solution set. Some examples include:

Telephony technologies, whether on premise or hosted VoIP

Public cloud solutions, like Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Collaboration platforms, like Office 365 and Skype for Business

Security solutions, like SecureWorks and Cisco

ISPs and Wide Area Networks (WAN), both MPLS and broadband

We also look at how your particular set of vendors is performing on a holistic level. What is each providing? Who’s responsible for what? Is each the best match for your needs? Are the levels right? Are the prices right? Are they living up to their promises? What would it take to change vendors? And how does your Strategic IT Roadmap affect your decisions about vendors moving forward?

All good questions! We’ll answer them for you, along with many others.

Managing vendors means driving excellence

As managed IT experts, we know when a vendor is not performing as it’s supposed to. And as account management experts, we know what to do about it.

Your Leapfrog team monitors vendor performance, records what we find, works directly with vendors to get issues resolved and negotiates (and renegotiates) contracts on your behalf to get you the best deal. We also constantly monitor the marketplace for new and different ways to bring you performance and savings opportunities — after having put them through our rigorous testing process to be sure they deliver what they promise. If a vendor solution makes the grade and is appropriate for your business, we’ll tell you about it during your next business review.

With frogs managing your vendors, those vendors become more valuable than ever while your IT ecosystem becomes more optimized than ever.